Cedars-Sinai Scientists, Physicians to be Key Presenters at World Stem Cell Summit

Los Angeles - Sept. 28, 2011 – Six leaders in stem cell research from the Cedars-Sinai Regenerative Medicine Institute will be key presenters at the world’s largest interdisciplinary stem cell meeting Oct. 3-5 in Pasadena, Calif.

The World Stem Cell Summit, co-sponsored by the Cedars-Sinai Regenerative Medicine Institute, is the flagship event for the global stem cell and regenerative medicine community.

The Summit will feature more than 170 scientists, physicians, medical ethicists, legal scholars and technology transfer experts discussing the latest scientific discoveries, business models, legal and regulatory solutions and best practices. The event is expected to attract more than 1,500 attendees from 25 nations and 60 exhibitors.

Leon Fine, MD, chair of Biomedical Sciences for the Medical Center will speak about Hospital and Clinical Perspectives on Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine at 2 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 5.

Charles F. Simmons Jr., MD, chair of the Cedars-Sinai Department of Pediatrics and the Ruth and Harry Roman Chair in Neonatology in honor of Larry Brown will moderate a discussion, The Outlook for the Cord Blood: All Things Considered, at 4 p.m., Monday, Oct. 3.

Nissim Benvenisty, MD, PhD, a research scientist at the Institute who primarily works with embryonic stem cells, will participate in a panel discussion, Safety Issues in Stem Cell Therapies, at 12:15 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 4.

“Cedars-Sinai is proud to sponsor this unique and outstanding event that brings together industry, academia and patient advocates to discuss the real advances and challenges of stem cells and translational medicine,’’ said Clive Svendsen, PhD, director of Cedars-Sinai’s Regenerative Medicine Institute.

Dedicated to advancing one of the most promising medical frontiers, the Cedars-Sinai Regenerative Medicine Institute brings together basic scientists and clinicians to translate laboratory discoveries into effective stem cell and other regenerative therapies. It houses leading experts in neurodegenerative, metabolic, skeletal, blood and eye diseases under one roof with shared equipment and other resources.

At the heart of the Institute is a core facility for the production of pluripotent stem cells capable of making all tissues in the human body. These are generated from adult human patient skin biopsies and other tissues. These cells have the potential to both model and treat many different types of human diseases. Working directly with collaborators across Cedars-Sinai Medical Center the Institute’s scientists are untangling the causes of disease and at the same time generating cells that may one day be used to treat patients.

“The unique combination of an outstanding hospital and rapidly growing research mission at Cedars-Sinai puts it at the cutting edge of the expanding field of regenerative medicine. We plan to move therapies from “bench to bedside” by taking them out of the laboratory and directly into the clinical environment,” Svendsen said.

Led by renowned stem cell scientist Svendsen, the Institute already has received a number of grants from both the National Institutes of Health and the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine and the U.S. Department of Defense.